In situations in which it is required to lift heavy objects and to position or lock them accurately one is often caught at an impasse resulting from the incompatibility of the desire for accurate manual handling with the need for mechanical hoisting and lowering, and this very often leads to unreliable improvisation. A case in point is the loading of airborne missiles into launchers located underneath the wings and fuselage of an aircraft. Such missiles are quite heavy, yet mechanically hoisting a missile all the way up to the launcher would defeat the purpose of accurate positioning while manually lifting a missile all the way up and then positioning it is difficult to perform.
It is accordingly the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for use as an auxiliary in the manual manipulation of a heavy object designed to provide a lifting force so determined that a heavy object can be lifted and lowered in a reliable and secure manner with the exertion of a relatively small manual force, thereby to combine the advantages of mechanical lifting and accurate manual positioning.